Mining Empire: Earth Resources News

Placer mining, ancient method of using water to excavate, transport, concentrate, and recover heavy minerals from alluvial or placer deposits. Examples of deposits mined by means of this technique are the gold-bearing sands and gravel that settle out from rapidly moving streams and rivers at points where the current slows down. Placer mining takes advantage of gold’s high density, which causes it to sink more rapidly from moving water than the lighter siliceous materials with which it is found. Though the basic principles of placer mining have not altered since early times, methods have improved considerably.
Specific placer mining equipment is needed for each of the methods which can be classified according to the several methods of excavating and transporting the gravel, or they may be designated to correspond with the various ways of saving the gold. The actual moving of the gravel from place is always the principal concern of the miner, and often the gold-saving is entirely incidental to the working of the deposit. The following classification, therefore, seems the most logical and is the one generally used by placer miners:

• hand-shoveling;
  
• ground-sluicing;
  
• hydraulicking;
  
• excavating by teams or power equipment;
  
• dredging;
  
• drift-mining.

The biggest step of the Moon as well as near-lunar space exploration program is the construction of a moon-orbiting space station, brought within a few thousand kilometers of the lunar surface. It is intended to serve as a solar-powered communications hub, science laboratory, short-term habitation module, and holding area for rovers and other robots. With its help, mankind will be able to colonize the Moon and launch flights to other planets, such as Mars.
The station will have four main modules: habitat module, the module to generate electricity, modules that'll help to control the whole station and conduct experiments, and also docking and spacewalks modules. The technologies needed to develop not only the Moon, but also deep space, will be tested on board the station. In particular, it will provide an opportunity to explore the lunar surface using the lunar rovers and landing stations.

Preliminary investigation a survey of the subsoil conducted by an engineering geologist in conjunction with a civil engineer. Typically, the footprint of the structure is established on the proposed building site and trenches up to fourteen feet deep are dug both outside, and more importantly, inside, the proposed footprint using the bucket-end of a backhoe. In extreme cases, a larger, more powerful tracked excavator is used.

The geologist is looking for potential failure planes, expansive clays, excessive moisture, potential for proper compaction, and other variables that go into the construction of a solid foundation. Materials are also gathered to determine the maximum compaction value of the subsurface. Preliminary investigations should always be conducted prior to the construction of any permanent structure.

The general principle of investigation is the integrated works, which means that along with the investigation and exploration of the main types of minerals, all accompanying mineral components and the possibilities for their utilization are also being examined, as well as hydrogeological, mining, geotechnical and other issues. Climatic, geoeconomic, socioeconomic and economic-geological perspectives and risks are also being studied.

Oil refinery is an industrial enterprise whose main function is the processing of oil into gasoline, jet fuel, fuel oil, diesel fuel, lubricating oils, lubricants, bitumens, petroleum coke, raw materials for petrochemistry. The refinery's production cycle usually consists of the preparation of raw materials, the primary distillation of crude oil and the secondary processing of petroleum fractions: catalytic cracking, catalytic reforming, coking, visbreaking, hydrocracking, hydrotreating and mixing of the components of finished petroleum products.

Refinery Profiles

Fuel profile
At the refinery of the fuel profile, the main products are various types of fuel and carbon materials: motor fuel, fuel oil, combustible gases, bitumen, petroleum coke, etc. A set of installations includes: mandatory - oil distillation, reforming, hydrotreating; supplementary - vacuum distillation, catalytic cracking, isomerization, hydrocracking, coking, etc.

Fuel and oil profile
In addition to various types of fuel and carbon materials, the refinery of the fuel and oil profile produces lubricants: petroleum oils, lubricants, and solid paraffins. A set of installations includes: installations for the production of fuel and installations for the production of oils and lubricants.

Fuel and petrochemical profile
In addition to various types of fuel and carbon materials, petrochemical products are fabricated at the refinery of the fuel and petrochemical profile: polymers and reagents. A set of installations includes: installations for the production of fuel and installations for the production of petrochemical products (pyrolysis, the production of polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene, reforming, aimed at the production of individual aromatic hydrocarbons).

The shearer is a combined mining machine that mechanizes technological operations in the longwall, separating the mineral from the reservoir mass and loading it onto a transport machine.
The main functional elements of modern shearers are: the executive body, which destroys (separates the mineral from the reservoir mass) and loads it on the bottomhole conveyor; hydro insert and one or two feeders to move the combine along the face room; drive consisting of one or two electric motors, main (right and left) and rotary gearboxes that transmit a torque from the engines to the shafts of the executive bodies.
On the rotary gearboxes and augers there is a nozzle irrigation system. The main gearboxes are connected to the motor housing by bolts and studs.

The shearers are classified by: the power and angles of incidence of removable reservoirs; the width of the executive body; the design of the executive body and the supply system - by type of energy to drive combines.
The executive bodies of the shearers in design can be: auger, drum, crown, disk, chain and combined.
The following basic requirements are imposed on executive bodies:

• ensuring the highest possible performance under given mining-geological and mining conditions;
  
• destruction of minerals with minimal energy intensity and degree of grinding;
  
• implementation of the unloading of minerals from the work area of the executive body and loading it onto the haul truck (when the shearer is working on flat and inclined surfaces);
  
• the possibility of infinitely variable height adjustment (according to the thickness of the extracted mineral reservoir);
  
• high mechanical efficiency, reliability and durability.